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question about crate time for a puppy and circling


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Hi! I recently rescued a ~4 month old puppy who has a head tilt and impaired vision. 

I have two questions that I would really appreciate some help on!
 
1. She is doing something I've never seen a puppy do before while on walks: circling me tightly as I walk, stepping directly over my feet to the left and then circling back behind my legs and back around on my right. It's really hard not to trip over her, and it's not fun.
 
I would also say she does seem to want to stop the walk pretty quickly (like about 1/4 of the way around a suburban block) and seems tired.
 
Do you have any ideas on what to do to train her to walk normally? 
 
I did notice that she did less of it when we went a walk earlier in the day (I had previously been taking her out in the evening or at night) so I wondered if maybe it's partly because her vision was more impaired at night? Or maybe an anxiety thing?
 
2. How much time does or did your puppy spend in the crate per day...? 
 
Thanks!
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Thanks for rescuing!

 

The head tilt, is the circling related to the direction of the tilt? What happens if you walk her on your other side? The vision, have you had her examined by a board certified ophthalmologist? What type of impairment does she have?

 

And being that she's only 4 month old...we need pictures :)

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What Journey said^^^ There's something called vestibular disease, which causes dizziness and can cause the eyes to move back and forth rapidly. It usually goes away on it's own within a few days and rarely repeats. My Shoshone was one of the repeaters. 

Get to a veterinarian and see what he says. At a minimum your dog is probably stressed from not seeing the world clearly. And it's exhausting, I've had a couple episodes of longer lasting dizziness and it's nasty.

Let us know what you find out, and I second the request from Journey ~ PIX!

Ruth & Gibbs

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I immediately thought of the head tilt and poor vision being the cause of the circling, also. I would suggest having her thoroughly checked by a vet. there could be something you can do to help her with that. Even if not, my thought is that if you learn as much as you can about her exact condition, there will be ways you can accommodate it for her so that she can cope with it better. Like, as was suggested, maybe walking her on the other side of your body, or something equally simple that would help her.

Thanks for taking in this dog. She's lucky you came along for her. :-)

As for crate time, I usually put a puppy into the crate any time I cannot be watching her (meaning I have to concentrate on something else, not that I leave her there all day) , and for naps, and when she or he is overstimulated and needs a little time out. At night as well, unless you have a different arrangement for her to sleep, like next to your bed  or in bed with you. The crate is a good tool to use with a puppy but you don't want her to be left there for hours at a time unless it is at night and you are nearby so you can hear her if she needs to go out.

Welcome to the forum..............and photos, please!

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